It's the Brian Laira show on WNYC. Good morning, everyone.

So have you asked yourself, what percentage of immigrants detained by ICE are the violent criminals who President Trump claims are his top priority?

Well, according to a Cato Institute review of deportation data from the first half of this year,

almost half of the people being detained don't even have criminal charges against them.

The numbers come originally from the deportation data project

at the University of California at Berkeley.

A New York Times article last week about this data set focused specifically on New York stats,

which indicates similarly that through October, around 45% of detainees had no criminal convictions and no criminal charges. So let's take a

closer look at some of those numbers and their implications for innocent people's lives with

David Beard, Director of Immigration Studies and the Sells Foundation Chair in Immigration Policy

at the Libertarian Cato Institute think tank,

and we'll invite your questions and stories. David, thanks for joining us. Welcome to WNYC.

Thanks for having me on. And listeners, have you been detained by ICE or know someone who has,

despite having no criminal convictions or criminal charges,

tell us your story or their story, 212-433, WNYC, call or text, 212, 433, 9692, and the way mass deportation

is being conducted.

How is it affecting any community you might be part of or involved with, even if you haven't been detained or don't know anybody individually who's been detained?

How is it affecting behavior in the community?

Fear, going to school, anything else.

212-433-9692.

And yes, we can also have the policy debate.

How much is this approach right or wrong?

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